The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday recorded the statement of former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi in connection with the alleged illegal sand mining case.
The statement was recorded by the agency in Punjab’s Jalandhar.
In February, days before the Punjab Assembly.polls, the ED had arrested Mr. Channi’s nephew Bhupinder Singh Honey in the same case.
Earlier, the agency had conducted searches on the pr4mises of those involved in different parts of Punjab and seized about ₹10 crore in cash and jewellery worth lakhs of rupees. The premises of Mr. Channi’s nephew was also searched.
The ED case is based on a First Information Report registered by the Punjab police on March 7, 2018, alleging illegal sand mining in six quarries located in the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district. The police had invoked the relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act against the accused persons.
The case was instituted after several teams comprising officials of the district administration, police and the mining department carried out surprise checks and found people illegally mining sand. Excavation machines and vehicles used for transporting the sand were seized during the operation.
